Tika
A feminine name of Hindu origin meaning "holy" or "mark".
Name Census estimates that about 321 living Americans carry the first name Tika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tika today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tika births was 1975 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tika. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
321
~ 1 in 1,067,771 Americans
Peak year
1975
24 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2001 SSA rank
#17,769
Tracked since 1966
Census
Tika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,475 people with the first name Tika, which placed it at #9,414 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,414
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,475 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
69.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and White (11.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tika described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander69.6% · 1,027
- Black or African American13.6% · 200
- White11.4% · 168
- Two or more races2.8% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 11
Popularity
Tika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tika from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 154 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tika by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tikas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tika
The name Tika has its origins in ancient Hindu and Sanskrit traditions, with roots that can be traced back to the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "tikka," which means a mark or a dot, often referring to the decorative mark worn on the forehead in Hindu culture.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Tika can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it is mentioned as a symbol of spiritual enlightenment and divine connection. The tikka mark was traditionally applied during religious ceremonies and festivals, signifying purity, protection, and blessings.
In the historical context, the name Tika gained prominence during the reign of the Maurya Empire in India, which spanned from the 4th to 2nd centuries BCE. During this period, the practice of wearing a tikka mark became widely prevalent, and the name likely gained popularity as a result.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tika. One of the earliest recorded examples is Tika Devi, a Hindu princess who lived in the 7th century CE and was renowned for her wisdom and philanthropic efforts. Another significant figure was Tika Ram Puri (1917-1976), an Indian freedom fighter and politician who played a crucial role in the country's independence movement.
In the realm of literature, Tika Nath Dhar (1858-1945) was a renowned Kashmiri scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit and Kashmiri languages. Additionally, Tika Bahadur Basnyat (1949-2011) was a prominent Nepalese diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and played a vital role in Nepal's foreign relations.
Another notable individual was Tika Sumpter (born 1980), an American actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films, including "Ride Along" and "Southside with You," where she portrayed Michelle Obama.
It is important to note that while the name Tika has its roots in Hindu and Sanskrit traditions, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity in various parts of the world, with individuals from diverse backgrounds embracing this name for its unique meaning and historical significance.
People
Tika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tika as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 321 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tika going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,067,771 US residents.
Is Tika a common name?
We classify Tika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 348 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tika most popular?
The single biggest year for Tika was 1975, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tika is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,475 people with the name Tika, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,414 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tika in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tika?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tika on both sides of the split. Of the 1,475 people counted with this name, 443 were male (30.0%) and 1,032 were female (70.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and White (11.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tika most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.6% (1,027 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tika in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tika in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tika can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Tika?
Want to know how many Americans are named Tika? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.